HAMILTON — Consolidating the town’s nine fire districts is necessary to make firefighting safer, more cost-effective and faster in the town, representatives of the town’s local firefighters’ unions told the township council on Tuesday night.

While the plan is in its early stages, Capt. Nicholas Buroczi, president of the Firemen’s Mutual Benevolent Association Local 284, said the township’s current system was “inhibiting any further progress.

“Our residents, businesses, visitors and firefighters deserve a better, more efficient and impressive fire service,” Buroczi told township council members. “We have a historic opportunity to create a model fire service for this wonderful community.”

Buroczi’s proposal is to combine all nine districts into one Hamilton Township Fire District No. 10, which would be governed by one five-member Board of Fire Commissioners. The district would pass one universal tax rate, equalize hydrant and water main fees and establish central command with one Hamilton Township Fire Department, one fire chief, a safety bureau and training division, Buroczi said.

The plan would fix response issues that exist now because of a fire district map penned nearly 100 years ago that has never been updated, Buroczi said. Under the current fire district map, firefighters from Fire District No. 7 are the first responders for fire alarm activations or smaller fires on Shady Lane and Route 33 — a neighborhood that sits about 1,200 feet from the Mercerville fire house, which covers Fire District No. 2.

For on-duty firefighters, this has caused serious safety concerns, FMBA Local 84 Vice President Mike Kiernan said. Most districts only have a skeleton staff during overnight hours and, due to scheduling differences in each district, it costs precious minutes for a fire company to gather enough volunteers to man a fire truck.

“I wish to have a chief at every fire. I wish to know that my backup is coming,” Kiernan said. “I don’t know if consolidation will be great for me, but I don’t see how it’s not going to deliver a more efficient service for the township.”

Consolidating fire districts is a long, tough road, Buroczi said. The township council — which expressed support for Buroczi’s plan — can only consider consolidation after 5 percent of the voters in each district petition them to do so.

In the current system, each district is led by an elected five-member Board of Fire Commissioners, who pass budgets and raise taxes separate from the municipal, county or school tax bills. The annual fire district elections, held each February, routinely draw fewer than 100 people to the polls.

By having nine districts perform the same service, similar expenses — such as legal fees, accounting costs and insurance plans — are duplicated nine times.

And while the average fire tax rate is about 49 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, taxpayers pay rates ranging from 16 cents to 88 cents.

“Our entire township is governed by one mayor and one five-member council. Why does the fire service need nine districts and 45 commissioners governing it?” Buroczi said. Fire Capt. Aaron Heller said the proposal would likely be met with resistance from all sides, including fire commissioners who collect salaries and firefighters who could see new employment contracts.

“But there’s a bigger thing here, which is that we’re not providing the service that we can. We as officers and firefighters know we can do a much better job,” Heller said. “I don’t know if this will save you a lot of money, but it will give you a much better service. We’ll give you something to be proud of in this town.”